HEALTH NOTES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 115, 20 May 1918, Page 2

HEALTH NOTES.

! SOME OBNjERAL, INFORMATION

| , The • following „ are extracts from ) Pears' Encyclopaedia. Properly 1 read they should help towards tho preservation of health and the pre vention of disease. A doctor should always be called in cases of sickness.

CONCUSSION. Violent shock, usually understood in relation to a severe blow sustained on the head or spine. The immediate consequences of concussion of the brain are very alarming ; but, unless the occasioning injury be extensive they are generally of transient duration. There is collapse, vomiting, and loss of muscular control and 1 power. Cold should be made to the. head and face, ammonia held to the nostrils, and stimulants administered. A strong purgative ougnt to be given unless recovery is speedy, and the bladder emptied'; while warmth should be applied to. the extremities, and mustard and, hot water over the stomach. 'Meanwhile medical aid should have been summoned.

CONGEiSTIOuST. A deprivation of circulatory power, or an accumulation of blood therefrom resultant. Any collection of fluid matter becoming hardened is also in a congested condition. Congestion is synonymous with inflamation; and is denoted by local swelling, pain and heat sensations. The temperature, of the body generally needs reduction when extensive congestion is present anywhere, with local applications of a. counteracting character, such as suitable poultices or fomentation, blistering, or, even in cases, cold treatment to the point.ol freezing.. CONSTIPATION should be prevented rather than cured. It is an unnatural condition. .Sedentary employment, especially when carried on continue" ==ly indoors is a sure provocative of costive - ness; muscular exercise is essential to the proper performance of the in,te? +:, " ,T functions. Therefore those who u:...;.i sit for hours at a dtesk for a livelihood should make it a rule to have their morning and evening walks regularly, when' constipation would trouble them but a little. It is a potent evil. Retention of faecal matter in the. bowels .is certain to occasion absorption of contaminating fluid in the blend to a greater or less degree. Then will follow' interference with the orderly action oi the digestive and exretory organs and the increased susceptibility to in- , fectious diseases which comes with an j unhealthy state. - CONSUMPTION. "Decline/'_or.washing away-j is a disease of civilisation; j and tuberculosis, its commonest form, a , scourge particularly of densely populat- j ed, low-lying, and predominating damp ' Consumption, as. we under- ; stand the term, is due to*the presence j and development with the bodily tis- j sues of the person affected of tubercle : bacillus. It. .is not now considered/-to be an, hereditary disease that is, the j germs are not transmitted from genera- • tion to generation. . The masters of the healing art are making high endeavour to circumvent, and . stamp out the malignant micro-organism. The openair 'treatment- cures many cases if taken in . time. A long voyage in temperate seas may prove restorative should'' the disease have not secured too strong a, hold; in either case the remedial, migration ought to have the accompaniment of a nutritive dietary, generous and digestible. Food! and medicine must, be permitted conjoint upbuilding action.' Constitutional strength should be sought the absorption of such agents as cod-liver oil, hyperphpsphate syrups, creosotes, and the calcium nitrates. CO-NTAGION or infection by "touch as the term literally .implies, has _ come to mean infection by immediate transmission in the case of zymotic disease generallv. Thus, though there may be no-direct contact of sufferer and visitor, the infection may be. conveyed through th© wearing of clothes that have been j worn previously by one smitten with a | disseminablo ailment, by. breathing air j ! contaminated by his exhalations, or by eating and drinking from vessels <;«. handling utensile employed by him. ' 'Catching'' complaints, .include .smallpox, scarlet fever, measles, mumps, whooping cough,. -influenza,. ; , typhoid fever, tvphus, and consumption. All these and others a re. of ..an .ascertained infectious character, and many_ virulent maladies besides those specified , are strongly suspected of being contagious.. For his and: that nvunity at .large,, "therefore, it,, behoves everv person to exercise ..the greatest possible precaution iii..,a.yoiding contagXCONTUSION "is the technical term for an injury arising from bruising and is generally .succeeded... by rapid swelling in the region of the blow, this arises from,the rupture of minute blood vessels and the exudation of blood and lymph into adjacent tissue. Cold applications' will check effusion and occasion slieht closing at the orifices of the ruptured parts, thus. expediting ; a resumption of the natural circulation. A compress of cloths frequently.wrung out of' the coolest obtainable water will 'usually be found helpful.. -. - CONVULSIONS are; involuntary muscular contractions, frequently accompanied by unconsciousness,and-. arising from some internal interference with the proper conditions of the nervous system. Hysteria, epilepsy, lock-jaw._ and. -hrain.. congestion occasion, convulsive trouble in adults; in children they belong to. the period of teething or are indicative, of constipation or the presence of intes-tma],. worms. When once convulsions,have occurred in. children, especially at. the teething time, great care should be taken to keep the bowels in.regular, ac- ; . tivity, and to maintain an equable- bod 7t . ily .temperature by the use. of comfortable clothing. . ■ ■ ■-".-•■■£ -,' COUGH. A more or less violent effort at .expectoration, expelling the air and mucus from the air passages. It is more a symptom and indication of disease than an ailment-itself .tM\d' is induced by . the passages of '.cc,>d . air,, over an irritated "part.- When due to ah affection .of the larynx, a cough generally has a tickling- kind of sensation at the top of the windpipe, and. is spasmodic and accompanied' by comparatiyeW little "expectoration. This is one. of the sorts'.of, dry cough, and.is veiy irritant. But .when the bronchial kibes or' lungs are 'the seat of trouble, the cough ends, in a discharge of' mucus, which may be purulent or sanguineous in character, according to. the. nature and extent of the disease present. Again cough may arise from stomachic derangement, in children from the irritation set up by intestinal worms, or in females from uterine disorder'.' Always the cough is the outward, -and audible sign of some inward ailment of greater or less: gravity, and. whenever ,it be-, comes distressing, and its nature is hot understood.' "recourse should be had to medical skill. , COUP BE SOfLTSIL. The technical term for sunstroke. ,or heat apoplexy. The- symptoms of this, seizure • are throbbing of the head, faintness, nausea, vomiting, and alarming interference with, orfailure of ' the heart's action. The best; treatment ..to Ytje resorted -\ to pending the "arrival" bf- medical assistance, is.the cold douche, and . the plication of ice, if obtainable, to the head with wet packing to. the body in

cases. Large doses of arxtipyrin will, if necessary, be administered" b\ the. doctor (hypodermically, if the; patient cannot be got to. swallow, ammonia^ being -injected);. '..'-.-No. alcoholic stimulant should be administered. GOWPOX is the disease with which human beings are inoculated: under the vaccination system, to render the individual Innocuous to any after-attack of the more, virulent and loathsome human malady, small-pox. CRAMP is a spasmodic contraction of the muscles, generally attended with much pain; it arises frequently from prolonged or undue exposure to cold on land or in water ,or~ it may be attributable to temporary exhaustion of physical power. When crainp in the bowels occurs it is usually owing to the presence of some indigestible food. It occurs in the limbs in cholera as the result of reflex irritation conveyed from the stomach or intestines. Over-lengthy immersion is a frequent cause of dangerous cramp, often fatal to bathers when assistance is nofc at hand. Friction is the best remedy for cramp, the brisk rubbing of the affected part.

CROUP (True). A dangerous inflammatory disease of the , trachea', incident chiefly to children. It is of a spasmodic and allied, in. its .worst symptoms; to diphtheria. Croup, either'true or spurious, always gives rise to ' considerable ■alarm, especially if noWelieved in early stages. It is consider eel to be at first due to reflex, irritation produced by constipation or indigestion in complication _ with cojd. A good dose of castor oil administered with. promptitude will not infrequently relieve the bowels and promote vomiting, the immedite result being the staying of the distressing spasm "by the removal of its main cause. A dose of ipecacuanhawine- will occasionally be needful in. obtaining vomiting, arid this expectoration also helps to expedite the flow of mucus in the windpipe and bronchia] tubes. The chest of the child, should be well rubbed with a compound liniment, back and front, of camphor, belladonna ,and soap and opium this being ■done every two or three hours until the symptoms exhihit marked abatement. Croup, taken in time, and submitted to this treatment, is, generally overcome in a day or two; neglected, it may in .a. very little while, develop into membraneous or true croup, and get beyond the reach of medical skill, ending in the suffocation of the patient in a last prolonged spasm. The characteristic choking is one of the most distressing, ieatures oi croup. "'False" croup I is a spasmodic affection, rarely of' seri- : ous nature.

OUTTING THE TiEiETH. The. removal of impeding tissue by absorption, usually called "cutting the teeth." commences in childlren "at about six months old, the central incisors usually appearing first. The lateral incisors fol- | low, from the seventh to the tento j month, and l the canines ■ from the four- ' teerith month onward, the first molars being "cut" concurrently. The second double teeth-do noli generally come into sight until the twentieth month, and may be delayed. until the end of the third year. The back molars do not make their appearance with the.first set or baby teeth, but are cut at about six years old; and from then, to 17 years, of a.ge, or later, the renewal or change to permanent teeth is gradually taking place, final cutting being of the posterior molars or "wisdom teeth." T>RATH, TESTS CMBV Hold handmirror over mouth, if life remains moisture '■will gather on the glass. Push <* needle gently into the flesh, the puncture: will close in, a living body, and re-', main open in case of death having already .occurred. The fingers, held hi front of a powerful light, look dark almost to blackness after death, but of reddisn hue so long as there is life, in them. . . . • ~ : PETjURITB 1 !- A condition in which, the" sufferer has confused ideas of. the past and present circumstances. I* is a frequent accompaniment of fever _ or disease of any exhausting description, and may be due to some inflammatory or other ailment of .the brain; or it roav result from excessive, use of alcohol. The inducement of sleep and repo?e ought .to be "aimed at as an important remedial measure.